To Have And Not To Hold
by Shortymae
Summary: Warning: This is a BBKids story! Temperance never thought that she could this. She had been furious at first but had gotten used to it really well. What will happen if someone tries to change her life again? William belonged to them. BB all the way.
1. Chapter 1: June, introducing William

Title: To Have and Not to Hold

Author: Shortymae

Beta-reader: Rianne (thanks hun, you're the best!)

Rating: T

Pair: BB

Summary: Temperance never thought that she could this. She had been furious at first but gotten used to it really well. What will happen if someone tries to change her life again? William belonged to them. (BB all the way!!!)

A/N: First of all: Rianne, thanks for beta-ing it!  You are always so cute and you are a great writer. Dankje wel! Readers: This is my second Bones-Fic and I am sorry if it's OOC…- really, but I had to write this down. The story takes place in the near future (2008/2009).

**Prologue**

_Dr. Brennan,_

_When you are reading this I might already be out of the state. Please do not follow me. You will not find me anyway. Do not waste time to catch a shadow. Nobody has caught a shadow before. _

_Ross did not tell anyone about me, I am sure. I guess it is my turn to do the explaining. We always do, don't we?_

_But maybe I do not really have to explain since the buddle belonging to this letter is not invisible or well hidden._

_I tried to inform your brother, Dr. Brennan, but I was not able to find him. The last couple of months have been straining and to be honest, I do not live a life a child would fit in. The mother-role has never suited me, but I could not get rid of him either, because I knew he could have somebody who would take care of him._

_I also left the choice considering his name to you or maybe to the system, if you decide against a life with him, like I did. Somebody else will take care of him if it will not be you either. _

_Whatever you are going to do with him his beyond my influence and I like to keep it that way. Again, please do not try to get a hold of me. Shadows are traveling fast… and alone._

_B.C.T._

_P.S. He was born on April 12__th __2008 shortly before 01:00 am in Washington, D.C. Just in case you care._

It was 05:00 am in the morning when the little boy opened his eyes for the very first time. No smiling face greeted him, nobody would coo to make the tiny baby squeal. He was alone instead, thickly packed in three layers of babyclothing and hungry.

He took a deep, sharp breath and released his inconvenience with a loud, heart-breaking cry.

**Chapter I**

**June: Introducing William**

Dr. Temperance Brennan had never ever wanted a child of her own. The thought of motherhood alone had made her feel constrained. She had not understood how so many women still had been able to have children on their own in such a overcrowded, sad and gruesome world where so many children in poor countries died of hunger and (sometimes only minor) diseases.

But adoptions had never really been Temperance's alternative, either. Children had to be fed and cleaned. They had to be comforted and trained. They just took too much time and it did not matter whether they were biologically related or not. She hadn't had the time to take care of someone else 24/7.

The world-known anthropologist had probably been the most uneasy person when children had been involved in their investigations. Booth had been (and still was!) fantastic with them and to be honest, she had not completely made a fool of herself when interacting with the little guys and girls, but she'd preferred a minor frequency. Children had not belonged to her orbit.

The only child she had been feeling close to – if you want to say it that way – had been (and still was!) Parker Booth. She loved how he and his father interacted, although she had never told Booth. He still did not know this – even now.

Temperance looked at the letter again and sighed. She was unsure whether she should be keeping it or not. She had left _her_ note in a small box, hidden between her underpanties in the drawer. She might have been extremely mad at this young woman, but her anger had eased.

Sometimes life could change a lot from one day to another and the 13th of April that year was such a day. It was June now and Temperance was enjoying the sun, warming her air-conditioned frozen body.

She put the letter back in her pocket and smiled as Booth was coming closer, balancing some of Wong Foo's gastronomic specialties. She was so happy to have him with her. He had helped her a lot through the first difficult weeks. Temperance did not know what she would have done without Seeley Booth, who always seemed to be such a natural when it came to children and their needs. He and Rebecca had shown her what the famous – fluent in at least three languages – anthropologist needed to know. Nothing had scared Temperance more than not knowing what to do.

She felt much more capable now than she had back in April. And something had changed too. Her relationship to Seeley Booth was definitively different – in a good way though. He actually had almost slept at hers every night because she had been so insecure and confused the first couple of weeks. He had even let her sleep and had taken care of everything. He had been taking care of her as well! How his beautiful hands had caressed her hurting back. He had assumed that she had fallen asleep but she had not. Temperance still did not want to miss his touch. She longed for time and shuddered at the thought. His smile got bigger and bigger as he came closer.

William Tye Brennan (Parker had come up with the middle name) was just about two months old and had changed her life completely. It was still new and Booth had not stopped supporting her whenever he could and she began to feel actually good about it, about being a mother even though William was not her biological child. He was the result of her brother's affair and since nobody knew where he had gone, Temperance had accepted to take care of him. She had hated it in the beginning, feeling completely over challenged, but the thought of letting him go into the system had not pleased her either. She was able to manage it somehow. It was hard without a nanny, but it was working. He was not running around the house – yet.

"Hi Bones." Booth put the food on the table and hugged her shortly.

She loved how he touched her neck while hugging her. She had gotten so used to him that she found it difficult now not to see him everyday, not lying next to him while he was holding the little guy. Booth bent down and smiled at William.

"Hi buddy! You are such a cute guy." He cooed and took the smiling infant out of the blue buggy.

"You might want to be careful, I just fed him. Please don't do the We-are-flaying-Hooray-Hooray-thing again or it'll get messy, like last time," Temperance smirked and stroke the baby's bald head. His big, blues eyes were fixed on her shiny watch and he tried to grab it with his tiny, chubby fingers. She had gotten easily used to his friendly and sometimes energetic temper but still dreaded the diaper- and vomit-parts.

"Are we going to play that silly game again, Buddy? No, no, no…" Booth smiled and the baby squealed.

"Booth," she said quietly, "don't make such a fool out of yourself. You are talking like seven-year-old and these people are watching us already."

_He is such a daddy-type._ Temperance thought and smiled at William who returned the gesture in an instance and exposed his toothless gums. Her partner just smirked and opened the food package.

"Come on Bones, these people are not watching us because of venom. They think we are quite…_charming_, aren't we, buddy? Don't tell me that you never, ever talk to him like this."

Temperance did not answer. Instead, she gestured the baby towards herself, welcomed William in her arms and put her hand onto his small head and stroke it carefully. She knew he would be falling asleep sooner or later. Temperance had found this challenging technique all by herself. She had been so proud of herself that she had had to tell her partner at three o'clock in the morning one night. All Booth had been able to say was "Well done, Mom!" and had hung up only miliseconds later. She wished him to be with her more often again, especially in the evenings, when William was sleeping. Temperance did not really want to confess her longings to Booth. She did not know what would or would not be happening if. She only hoped that he would "offer" his help more often, of course with no ulterior motives!

"Are you going to adopt him in October then. You've got what…four months left?"

_Great, that question again._

Temperence nooded and looked down at the ground. If Russ and _his family_ were not found until October, she would be allowed to adopt him right away, since she was biologically related to William and, so to say, pretty well off. Right now she only had the right to take care of him and Temperance had not made up her mind about it. Sure, the baby was growing on her but she definitively missed her independence and calm nights. And she probably would be needing help of a nanny soon. William was not supposed to be playing with sharp bones and deadly chemicals in the lab (or anywhere else) and she could not imprison him in her office, day after day. The only way out of this dilemma was cutting her workhours down if she did not want him to stay with a nanny all day long. She had read too many articles about severe skull damnifications in infants caused, not by the parents, but by the woman who were paid for taking care of them.

Booth waited for an answer but right now she could not give him one. She opened her mouth to speak but her voice would not obey her commands. Her partner smiled faintly, took a couple of fries and stuffed them carefully into her mouth. "You'll know soon, Temperance. (Pause) Any plans for tonight?" He twinkled and watched her holding the sleepy baby.

"Oh, actually yes, I've got a hot date with a really _charming _young man," Temperance smiled and shook her head.

"Good," said Seeley pleased ,"let me see what I can arrange."


	2. Chapter 2: July, Croup

**Chapter II**

**July: Croup**

"Zack, you have to run the test on the skull again…these results cannot be correct. Look at the indentation on the forehead."

July had been an aweful month. Dead corpses had been raining down from everywhere, as if they were _reproducing_. Temperance and her team were hardly keeping up with the work. Especially identifying seemed to be impossible these days. She sighed and stared at the clock. She had eight corpses left, eight! Poor Angela, she was trying so hard, but some skulls were completely wrecked. Temperance was just about to give up as a familiar voice called her name.

"Hi Bones, time to get busy. We've got a new case!"

Normally she would not have hesitated at all, but under these circumstances? The last thing she could use was another skeleton, another dead person who had to be identified. Booth just looked at her and smiled. "What?" He asked irritatedly as she did not responded as usual.

"You look tired." He came closer and put his left hand onto her forehead. She did not back off, just shut her eyes and relaxed. Her head was aching. Temperance and Booth did not know that Angela was watching them. She simpered faintly and turned her concentration back to the monitor.

"We've got so many skeletons here, Booth. You'll have to wait if this case isn't labeled "high priority", or something like it."

"I just want you to take a look at it. That's all."

"Okay," she said hesitantly, "but I have to be back at 5."

Two weeks ago Temperence had decided that it was time to hire a nanny. Corazón-Lucía Vasquéz watched William Mondays and Tuesdays, from 08.00 am till 05.00 pm but Temperance had insisted on spending time with the baby while having her break. It confused her a little bit that leaving William "alone" made her feel so uneasy. Temperance tried to trust the nanny, she was actually pretty nice and good with him, but the thought about leaving him with another, unknown woman was freaking her out, although she did not want to admit it.

Temperance leaned against the door of Booth's car and stared outside while her partner was informing her about the new case. She found it hard to concentrate on his voice, maybe because a weird, unknown feeling had taken possession of her attention and would not leave her alone. In fact, it was getting worse. Temperance checked her cell phone – no calls yet. Was that a good or a bad sign?

"What do you think?"

"Uh, what?" She straightened herself and groaned. "Booth, I'm… sorry. I wasn't paying attention. The last weeks have been exhausting and with William having a nanny now… it's odd." She admitted and openend the copy of the case file which was lying ontop of her lap. She hopped he would not pick up on her last comment.

"Hearing something like that from you is odd… Bones, you sound so incredibly…" he paused and smiled, "… human."

She shot a dark glance at Booth and was just about to answer brusquely when her cell phone rang. It was Corazón.

"Brennan…Corazón, qué? Qué pasó? No puedo entenderte. Por favor, déjalo ya…sí…sí. Cómo está William? Vuelvo enseguida."

She hung up. "Booth, take me back immediatley," her voice was shaky, "William is in the hospital."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temperance sat right next to the baby cot and watched William, who was sleeping peacefully. He had taken her pinky and still had not let go, as if he was afraid that she would be leaving him. His breathing was still heavy and somewhat throaty. He had still been coughing and crying vehemently when Temperance had arrived. He had not let anyone else but her quieting him which had not been really helping him to breath normally again. The doctors even had had to put him on artificial respiration for some time.

They had informed her that William probably had suffered from an abnormal violently croup attack, a respiratory disease which afflicted especially infants and young children. Such respiratory symptoms were caused by inflammation of the larynx. Narrowing of the airway was the typical result.

"Croup is not uncommon," the friendly pediatrician said with a weak smile, "but the treatment is easy, normally."

"Normally?" Temperance's eyes widened. She took Booth's hand who was standing right behind her, stroking her neck with the other hand.

"This attack was extremely violent. This could have been because of his rising panic. William probably hadn't been in a hospital before. He got scared and that aggravated the symptoms. He wasn't breathing properly. However, if he gets another attack, the thing that can help him is actually pretty easy. One of the simplest ways to treat or help with croup is to inhale cool mist. Especially at night. If he suffers from an attack at night, take him outside. Let him inhale the cool, misty air. If it doesn't seem to help, try steam from running, hot bath water and show him that everything is okay and that he doesn't need to panic."

Temperance just nodded and turned her attention back to William, who just woke up whining loudly. The three-month-old boy squinted and reached out for her, his chubby arms spread apart and still fussing.

"Go ahead, take him," the doctor said, "let me get the discharge papers. You can take him home now. He should be fine."

As soon as she welcomed William in her arms, the baby put his bald head down onto her shoulder and cooed happily. His left hand clung to the V-collar of her shirt. Temperance did not care that other people were able to watch her now. She was too relieved to hide behind her usual anthropologist-wall, she kissed and stroke his head. She did not know what she would have done if… if something worse had happened.

Booth offered himself to carry William to the car but Temperance declined his offer thankfully. She wanted to be near him right now, she wanted to feel his warm body on her skin. She needed to know by herself that he was okay and she realized that she was not able to live without him anymore. Rising a healthy baby seemed to be hard and stressful but the croup attack definitively openend her eyes. It was not a burden, it was chance. It was Temperance opportunity to have a family of her own, even if the core family only consisted of William and her – and Booth.


	3. Chapter 3: August, Getting Closer

A/N: Hi there! I just wanted to thank you, I hart Booth, Rae, jemb, driving home, rocks and glass, ReadingRed, emma134, Becca Hilpz, Jenna and of course Rianne for the kind words. I really appreciate them. Bear with me, I am not a native speaker but it's getting easier now than it was before. 

**Chapter III**

**August: Getting Closer**

It was August now and hot as hell. Temperance sat in her office, William right by her side on the ground playing with his new-found love (an eye glasses case), and tried to concentrate on her new novel. As fast as the dead corpses had emerged as fast had they vanished without a trace. As if August was too hot to actually commit a murder. She was happy and relieved that she could spend more time with William, although she still had lots to do.

Temperance and Booth were working on a terrible complicated case and she was now waiting for the results. A female skeleton had been found in the woods, fully clothed in a bavarian attire – at least nine years deceased. The weird thing was that the outfit had been bought just recently. Booth was still trying to figure out who had purchased it. They had found semen too, especially on the pelvis region but the DNA-tests were still running. There was nothing Temperance could do right now. She already had determined the murder weapon – hedge clippers – and the time of her death. Mrs. Kaiser had at least given birth to one child which would be now ten years old or older. And her (ex-)husband had already been cleared too because he had had an air-tight alibi.

Temperance looked at her watch. It was now 6.30 pm and almost time for William to be fed. He was always such a happy baby, smiling and fooling around with her, Angela, the squints or members of the Booth family. The little boy was now four months old and discovering more and more of the world by himself. He put the glasses case in his mouth and tried to suck on it. It always amazed Temperance how smartly he already behaved. Whenever she looked into his eyes she knew that he was _analyzing_ his surroundings, especially her. And he tended to react very sensitively on her feelings and moods, as well.

"So small and already reading people, huh?"

He reached out for her and she took him instantly. Temperance loved him and she did not care whether this feeling was caused by evolutionary processes or something else. She hugged him tightly and was glad that he had not had another croup attack.

"Mommy is not going to leave you. I'll be staying with you even if you are going to study psychology and become a shrink."

His chubby fingers reached for her earrings and touched them carefully. He loved shapes and colors (especially moving items) Temperance had noticed, but he had gotten even more attracted to faces of all kinds. This behavior was typical for a four-month-old but William seemed to be more than just interested. He would always try to touch unknown faces and run his fingers over other people's lips and noses, as if he wanted to _feel_ what other human beings looked like.

His fingers moved from her earrings to her lips. _Why am I not surprised?_ William cooed and laughed loudly, showing off his two little front teeth. Temperance kissed his cheek as the baby rubbed his eyes, yawning. A part of her worried about Russ and his family. Even the FBI had not been able to locate them but the other – new – part of her refused to give William up again.

She had accepted him as a part of her life now, more, she started to dread the moments Temperance could not take care of the boy properly. She was not able to keep him all the time in the lab or in her office because he was getting more and more active. Hodgins and Angela were also great with him but she could not always keep them from working. "Cora", the nanny, was doing an awesome job but the young anthropologist always felt guilty. What if he started prefering his nanny over Temperance? The thought was silly and she knew that but the fear that something could destroy her newly-built "band" always accompanied her, like a distasteful smell.

She brushed aside her laptop and leaned against the couch's slope still holding William closely. He had put his head on her sternum and was sucking on his dummy. Temperance closed her eyes and relaxed enjoying this moment. She thought about her old "Williamless" life. It had definitively been different. Being a mother figure to someone was certainly new and kind of weird but Temperance had gotten used to it, not easily, but she had. Maybe this was the best thing that ever happened to her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Booth was standing right in front of them, hardly able to breath. He was afarid of waking them both up. It was 7.30 pm now and he had come to tell Temperance that nothing more was supposed to be done today. The DNA-tests were still running. They just had to wait now and that was something he did not mind at all. Booth was still stunned by the scene he had encountered.

Temperance was asleep on the couch, little William lying on top of her also sleeping. They looked so peaceful and pleased. He fumbled his cell phone out of the jacket and took a picture. That view had to be caught and saved. _Just in case Russ and his family were found and William taken back._ He thought.

It seemed to be really selfish but Booth strongly hoped that Russ would never set foot in his sister's life again. William belonged to "his Bones". She had a family on her own now. The tiny guy sleeping in her arms was her son. The Special Agent considered himself as a member of this small family, too and he always prayed that "Bones" was thinking the same. Their relationship had gotten different and he loved it, but he was not sure whether she felt the same.

He had spent the first couple weeks with her every night to help her go through the "post-natal-trauma" and it certainly had become closer. He had always stroked her back and her head when she had fallen asleep, like now. The urge to just touch and hold her was getting stronger and if he had not been in her office he did not know what he would have done. Special Agent Seeley Booth was falling in love with Dr. Temperance Brennan. At least he knew that for sure.

Temperance stirred and opened her eyes, unsure were she was at. _Oh right_. She was lying in her bed. Booth had woken her up that evening and had taken them home. She switched the light on and crawled out of the comfortable bedding trying to locate him. She found him in William's room watching the baby silently. Temperance came closer as he turned arround.

He looked tired, still in his FBI suit, but relaxed. She smiled at him and and put her hands on her hips.

"Did he fuss a lot?"

Temperance was now standing next to Booth and took the baby's tiny hand. William was teething and often woke up crying out loudly. The only thing that could comfort him was either her finger or the glasses case. Sometimes it took him ages to fall asleep again.

"Not really. He was just hungry." Booth lifted the bottle, smiling.

"He is such an easy boy, you can consider yourself lucky, Bones, you know that?"

They looked into each other's eyes. Temperance's heart was racing. _Relax, Temperance. Nothing is going to happen_.

"I know, nobody will be able to take him away from me, " she swallowed," he's mine now."

It was said. She officially accepted her motherhood, not only to herself but to the outside world. Booth came closer, his lower body was almost touching hers. His hand took her arm tenderly and pulled her out of the room. He closed the door behind him and took her face. Temperance did not turn away. He was taking her breath away.

"You are so wonderful, Temperance."

He pressed his lower body against hers and Temperance used this opportunity to wrap her legs around his waist, not really sure what to think or do to next. She could feel his fast heartbeat against her own. Their lips were only millimeters away while sitting on the ground of her living room and trying to hold this sensation a little bit longer.

When their lips finally met Booth had already gotten rid of her bra. Something deep down in her head was screaming at her. The thing which was about to happen did not seem to be right, Temperance knew that but to be honest she did not really care right now and helped Booth out of his shirt and his pants. Whatever it was, she had not felt it for a long time. Maybe she had never experienced something deep like this before.

Temperance felt his erection between her legs. Both where naked now and she was kneeling on top of him. She bent down and their tongues met again. This time even more forceful and voluptuous. He tried to get up, pulling himself closer to her upper body and clung with one hand to her shoulder while the index finger of the other hand had reached an extremely sensitive spot of her body and was moving distinctively.

"Can I keep you, too?"

A wave of pleasurable sensation excited her entire body and she moaned. She could not wait any longer and parted her legs, sitting finally down. Temperance was not able to keep a single, rational thought in her mind. Her heart jumped as she was feeling him inside her.

"Yes, you can…" she whispered huskily.


	4. Chapter 4: September, A Call

**Chapter IV**

**September, Part I: A Call**

Angela eyed her best friend suspiciously. Temperance had changed a lot lately, not only because of her new-found motherhood. She seemed to be much more relaxed and to some extend happier than before. Her best friend had never really smiled a lot but since August… _Woah, was she actually humming? Something must have happened to her._ Angela thought and grinned.

"Why are you humming?"

Her best friend looked up and raised her eyebrow.

"Uhm, no…I don't do that, Ange."

"Sweetie, no need to negate it. I so heard you, you were humming!"

Temperance shook her head and smirked slightly, although her blushing face told another story. She pulled a strand of hair out of her eyes and tried to avoid Angela's piercing glance.

"I did not hum," the anthropologist said louder than intended, took some of her notes and scurried past Angela out of the lab, saying: "You can work on the skull now, Ange, I'm done with it. If you need help I've got my cell phone with me."

"Okay mom," Angela teased and suddenly gasped, "Sweetie, wait," she came closer and whispered casually, "… it's him, isn't it? You guys are doing it." _Finally…was about time, _Angela added in her thoughts.

Temperance opened her mouth but ended up saying nothing. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Let me tell you everything tomorrow, okay? I've got to go now."

Angela nodded.

"Oh and…you might wanna check on this distinctive glow of yours, as well." Her best friend waved happily.

_I'm not glowing_. Temperance thought, waved back and hurried (finally!) out of the building. Booth was already waiting in front of his car. He smiled when he caught sight of her. They hugged each other shortly and climbed into the vehicle. Temperance took his hand as soon as both were sitting and eyed him. They had decided on keeping their relationship a secret – for now. Both had to get used to this special and intimate contiguity at first before making everyone crazy.

"What? Is something wrong?" Booth asked while he was starting the engine.

She squeezed her partner's hand but did not return his gaze. "I think Angela knows."

"Does that bother you?"

Temperance shook her head. She was fine with Angela knowing, but she hoped that her friend could keep it dark. "I just have to get used to _this_. I'm not so perfect when it comes to relationships." She smiled timidly.

"Temperance," he took a deep breath and played with her index finger, still focusing on the traffic, "… it's not even a year ago when you were talking about you and children in such a way. Thinking about motherhood, pregnancy and a genuine relationship made you feel uncomfortable.

Look at you now, Temperance! So much has changed. You had a baby – well inadvertently and not by birth – but that does not matter anymore. I've seen you interacting with William. You have become his mommy and you love the boy. It's not awkward anymore, is it? Everytime you look at him I can see your true commitment, something you denied for so long.

But what I was actually going to say is this: Tempe, you can change, you already did and being not good at something does, too. You might be insecure and feeling a little bit overchallenged right now but you shouldn't be. I love to be with you and share my life with you. I love you, Temperance. Nobody is perfect considering love and commitment. You just have to give it a try and that's exactly what you – we – are doing."

Temperance was not able to reply. She had a lump in her throat and was trying hard to control her rising emotions. She bit her lip and was avoiding his eyes, unsure how to tell him what she was feeling right now. She held her breath and closed her eyes. Booth's soft hand was still on hers. The words "I love you" were employing her mind but something prevented her from spilling them out. This unaccustomed emotion had reached her consciousness and kept Temperance from thinking clearly whenever she was with Booth or thinking about him. She tried to phrase what her mind was experiencing, but failed and just smiled at her partner. He understood and blinked.

"You'll find your words, Temperance. You've already found a way to express your feelings for William. I will wait, as much, as you need me to."

The couple remained silent for the rest of the ride. It was not an uncomfortable silence though. Sometimes words were not required to express what the significant other was having on his/her mind.

Booth had fetched her to question a possible witness regarding Mrs. Kaiser's gruesome death. They had not been able to find her murderer although the DNA had been decrypted, no match in CODIS or anywhere else. They were already investigating internationally because it seemed that Mrs. Kaiser's three children had been discovered just yesterday in a German Mc Donald's restaurant all by themselves, close to Munich. Their mother had come to the US in 1986 and had established a bakery company. She had been married to a German police officer, Thomas Kaiser who also had been suspected by the FBI. He could consider himself lucky though because of his waterproof alibi. Their children, sixteen-year-old Nikolas, fourteen-year-old Paul and ten-year-old Selina had never had the chance to get to know their mother well. She had died approximately nine years ago, soon after her young daughter's birth.

"She was so happy having a little girl again, after two boys. You know, her first child, Luisa-Marie, was stillborn. It's a shame that she's not able to see her growing up and becoming a young woman."

Temperance remembered Mrs. Kaiser's mother's-in-law words well. Her daughter never knew how much she had been appreciated and loved even before her birth. How her mother had decorated the baby girl's room neatly. She wondered herself whether William felt wanted. The baby had not been demanded at all and Temperance hoped that she was able to give her son a feeling of importance and meaning of his existence.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh William," she cooed faintly, "it's alright, baby, it's alright. I know it hurts."

The anthropologist bent down and welcomed him in her arms as he reached out for her. His little face was littered with tears and he was still fussing loudly. Temperance cradled William in her arms and hoped that he would fall asleep soon. Teething was not really a fun part to both of them. He had already woken up three times crying vehemently. As soon as she gave him the glasses case he put it in his mouth, chewing on it immediately. That would sooth William for a while now.

Temperance moved to the rocking-chair and sat down, still holding the baby close to her body and started to swing. She smiled as she saw that her plan was working. William calmed down. He stopped fussing and his breathing relaxed as he seemed to be falling asleep again. Temperance held her breath. _Please no noise now_. She thought hopefully. _He's almost there, just a little bit more…_

Suddenly the telephone rang. _What the fu…?!?_

William opened his eyes instantly and cried out loud. His face grimaced and he clenched his fists. She tried to calm the baby as she picked up the phone angrily. Who was calling her late at night anyway if it was not really important? Booth hurried out of the bedroom, took the baby out of her arms – so she was able talk properly – and faced her worriedly.

"Hi Tempe, it's me Russ."

Her heart stopped working for a millisecond and her pupils widened.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry about calling you so late. I was just going to say that everything is fine now. The FBI still hasn't found us. We are…Tempe, what's wrong?"

William was fussing again.

"Is that a baby, Temperance?"

She could not speak. Her mind was racing. What was she supposed say?

"Did you have a baby? Is that your child? Why didn't you…?"

Temperance hung up fast, turned around, took the baby out of Booth's arms again and gasped. Her partner hugged her tightly and stroked her head, knowing that something had badly gone wrong.

"That was Russ."


	5. Chapter 5: September, Sick

A/N: I Hart Booth, Marinusky, brennanmars, rocks and glas and rae, THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK: ) and I want to thank everybody who put the story on alert. I'm truly touched.

**Chapter V**

**September, Part II: Sick**

True and deep satisfaction of sex could only be experienced from a genuine comittment. Temperance appreciated the term "making love" much more now than she had done before. She had called it just "sex", a release of specific neurotransmitters. It felt definitely different in a pleasant way now. She had started to forget everything which troubled her mind when making love to Seeley and she could not have been happier, if…

Temperance was still able to hear his fast heartbeat as she was sitting on top of his lap, facing him. Both were sweat soaked and their hair was a mess. She snuggled closer to his upper body, wrapped her arms around him and put her head on top of his left shoulder. She wished that this moment could last forever. It was now only Temperance and Seeley. No crying baby, no calling brother who could destroy her family _again_.

He was stroking her back as she looked up and kissed him gently. She could repeat it, always and she would never want to miss this – him – again. Seeley's embrace strengthened and Temperance crawled his disheveled hair. Their breathing became heavier as he focused on her most sensitive area of the body for the second time of the night. Temperance knew that he wanted to make her forget again and she loved him for the attempt but right now she had to talk about it, about her fear.

"Seeley…" she gasped and smiled faintly. Her legs were shaking. "We haven't talked about it since I got sick last night…"

Temperance had had to stay in the bathroom for the rest of the night throwing her guts out. Russ' call had been too much for the day. She had felt slightly sick that night but had not told anyone. It had not been that bad, but her brother had distracted her in such a way that her uneasiness had forced Temperance to kneel in front of the toilet for almost four hours!

Unfortunately William had woken up again and could not be soothed. So Seeley had had to take care of his sick girl friend and of her fussing baby, as well. Luckily they had been able to stay at home the following day.

"He is going to call again. I know him."

Temperance leaned against his torso and inhaled his scent. She checked the clock. It was almost 04.30 am in the morning.

"What should I tell him?" she snorted sarcastically, "No, it's actually your baby but I've been trying to hide him from you. Oh, by the way, his name is William and he belongs to me. Basta? He is William's biological father and no court in the world would take the right away from him raising his own son. There will be no chance for me to keep him, if…"

She swallowed and avoided Seeley's gaze. Temperance tried to gulp back her tears and breathed silently.

"Yes, he's got a criminal past but he is married now, lives a decent life and is step-father of two little, nice girls.William will be taken away from me if I tell him. I don't want to lose my son, Seeley. The only reason I am able to take care of him are our common genes and my decent economic status. But I am not married, I don't have children on my own…I mean, before William of course…my job is taking away most of my free time. That's why I am forced to get help from a nanny…," Tears were already running down her cheeks, "I can't let him go with William. Russ doesn't know what comforts him, he does not know anything about William's likings and record of sickness."

Seeley wanted to comfort her and was just about to comment as Temperance seceded from him and rushed into the bathroom. It was almost 04.45 am as a familiar retching reached his ears. Seeley sighed, went to the bathroom and kneeled beside Temperance who had stopped for a moment and had put her head exhaustedly on her crossed arms.

"This is driving me crazy."

Another flush of bile forced its way out of her body and Seeley took her hair out of the sweaty face just in time. He hoped that William would not wake up.

"I remember being upset about holding him for longer than two minutes and now," she clung to her partner's hand, "my body and my mind are going insane because there might be the possibility of losing him to my brother, his biological father. Isn't that selfish? Hold on…"

Seeley put a cold cloth on her sweaty forehead and rubbed her back. Temperance closed her eyes and took a deep breath when she flushed the toilet for the xth time.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Temperance nodded and stood up shaking heavily. He took her hand and directed her out of the big bathroom into the kitchen. She slouched on the table and smiled as Seeley offered her a glas of apple juice. He had never seen her like that and it frightened him. She gulped the juice down all at once and put the glass on the counter.

"Come closer…" she demanded.

Seeley did as he was told and Temperance hugged him tightly. _If I didn't have you, Seeley Booth._ She tought and smiled tiredly as he began to nibble on her left ear. His hands rested on top of her shoulders. Both were looking at each other. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He carried her back to the bed and put her down. Nobody said a word. Seeley put his arms around her torso and the couple enjoyed their closeness and the silence. He tried to hide his growing erection from her but failed. She could feel him but Seeley handled this situation very well and she was thankful. The young woman would amend it later that day…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temperance listened to her partner's regular breathing when he had fallen asleep. _I love you. _She was not mad about him saying anything. He had attempted to but her vomiting had kept him from telling her. Temperance was still able to smell the gross odor of vomit and grimaced as she was staring at the clock. It was five now and she had at least one hour of sleep left before the baby would be waking up. She closed her eyes and tried to relax but something else was bothering her. Was her nausea really caused by Russ' call? Was he really the reason why she could not keep down any of her meals? She realized that it was already the 12th of September and still no sign of her period. _Oh, that is really great, Temperance. _She thought and bit her lips nervously.


	6. Chapter 6: October, Panic

A/N: Your feedback's always so wonderful. I really appreciate it, brennanmars, I hart Booth, rocks and glass, Marinusky, KristieM, xAbiVx and 43n5ic fr3ak! Thanks a lot. Hope you'll enjoy this one as well!

**Chapter VI**

**October, Part I: Panic**

Temperance stared at the female skeleton in front of her. The bones had been found in the middle of nowhere and it was her job now to identify the person's ID and the cause of death. The known anthropologist had been working the whole day but had not come really far. She just could not concentrate on the task. Her mind was giving her such a hard time! It screamed at her. She should be taking care of something else. Temperance had confounded two different types of terms already and she did not want to make such an embarrassing mistake again. Zack had stared at her in disbelieve and Hodgins and Angela had just looked at each other suspiciously. In fact, Angela had been eyeing her the entire day! Like now.

Temperance knew for sure what was on her friend's mind and avoided her eyes vehemently. _First the humming and now she is actually making mistakes! _If it had not been that serious Temperance would have laughed loudly at herself. But it was not funny and it she was not happy either. The young woman did not know what was depressing her the most, the possibility of losing William if Russ was told about his son or her preceeding pregnancy.

She was seven weeks overdue and had not told anyone. Seeley suspected something. He was not really hiding his excitement although she had not made it public yet. He had gotten extremely fascinated with her belly and he would ALWAYS put his hands on it and make this special knowing face of his. A face that told her "Sweetheart, no need to keep it a secret anymore. I know…". The fact that she was at least eight weeks pregnant was not bothering her the most, but the absence of joy about it did. The possibility of losing her little son drove her insane but the chance on having and giving birth to a child on her own frightened her. She loved Seeley but was she already able to pursue this relationship?

Temperance did not have an answer to that question. They already were a little family, including Seeley, William, sometimes Parker and her, so why was she having such a hard time accepting her child which was growing inside her, making Temperance throwing up in the mornings? _Not a really good point to get pregnant at all. _She thought gloomily and tried to focus on the damaged sternum. The poor woman had suffered from a severe type of bone cancer but that was not the cause of death, at least it did not seem like it.

"Dr. Brennan?"

Hank, the Security Officer, smiled at her and pointed at the short, familiar woman who was waiting outside of the laboratory.

"I guess somebody wants to see you."

Temperance looked up, left the laboratory and greeted Cora and William with a grin.

"Hola, Corá, hola mi cariño." She stroked the happy baby's cheek.

"Hola, Señora Brennan! William quería su Mamá. Voy a volver a casa ahora," the young woman handed the boy over to Temperance and grinned, "he has been a good boy today. You are a lucky "mujer", hasta luego, Dr. Brennan."

William squealed in her arms and tried to grab a strand of her hair showing off his few white teeth. Temperance was glad that his teething had gotten better. He would not wake up anymore in the middle of night and let them sleep. Angela joined them curiously and petted the baby's chubby arm.

"Hi Sweetheart," she cooed kind of exaggeratedly and pulled him out of her bestfriend's arms, "you've gotten so big! Look at you, handsome guy."

Temperance rolled her eyes. _Why does everybody behave like a total moron as soon as a baby crosses the scene? _She thought, checked her son's diapers and looked at the clock. It was 6.30 pm now and time to go. Seeley was probably waiting at home already. She smiled at the thought of him and relaxed. It did not seemd to be that bad anymore. She gazed over at the happy baby which was chewing on Angela's sleeve. He was the best evidence that she was actually able to be a good mother. Why being so unhappy about her own pregnancy when she did not need to fear anything, especially with Seeley by her side always loving, helping and protecting her? William had definitively a soothing effect on her.

"It's time to go now," Temperance said as Angela passed William over and waved, "see you tomorrow."

Temperance was just about to turn around and leave when she noticed that she had received a text message:

_You should be coming home as soon as you can._

_I love you, S._

_P.S. Leave William with Angela and Hodgins!_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Russ was holding a picture of William in his hands, saying nothing and staring at it. He tried to speak a couple of times but failed. As if he was rewording everything he was going to say. Temperance had immediately noticed that William did look a lot like his father. Seeley was sitting closely next to her one arm wrapped around her shoulders. She was almost crushing his hands and not able shape a single, useful thought. Temperance felt her heart beating fast.

They had been sitting uncomfortable like this at least for thirty minutes when Russ spoke for the very first time. His voice sounded shallow and somewhat disappointed. Who would not be?

"Why…why didn't you tell me, Tempe? You could have just answered my question when I called you that day. Listening to my son's cries without even knowing that I was – am – sharing fity percent of my genes with him. I called you a month ago, Temperance…you," he eyed the Special Agent viciously, "always seem to be able to find out about other people's businesses but only when you _want to. _Don't you think I know about you?" he snorted disbelieving and he raised his voice, "I want to see my son! Where is my son?"

He clenched his fists and gaped at them. Temperance did not know what to do. She felt completely overchallenged right now. Her mind agreed with Russ and his reproaches but her heart refused to listen. All she wanted to do was screaming and throwing her brother out of the apartment. She was staring at the copy of the adoption papers she had signed barely a week ago and thanked God that she had sent the originals back already.

"I swear Temperance, you are my little sister and I love you but if you don't tell me where he is I will…"

Seeley snorted at his words and stood up intimidating.

"You will do what exactly, Russ? You did not even ask about the boy's name. You came here because you've found out _somehow_ that you are a father all of a sudden bringing our life totally out of balance. We tried to find you but you didn't take the chance when you were able to. Your sister has been taking care of him from day one. She is his mother," the anger in Seeley's voice was increasing, "you decided against a life with your sister over a year ago and now you are actually thinking that she would resign her motherhood?"

Russ stood up without saying anything and rushed out of Temperance's apartment slamming the door behind him.


	7. Chapter 7: October, Confidence

**Chapter VII**

**October, Part II: Confidence**

"What are we supposed to do now, Seeley?"

Temperance was on the verge of tears. She had not been feeling like this since her parents had disappeared over fifteen years ago. The logic loving woman was not able to think clearly. Alarming pictures were troubling her mind already. Sickening images of herself and William at the point of having to detach from each other. Temperance shut her eyes and tried to repress these cogitations. They felt so close though.

She wished that Russ had never called. Her love for William exceeded her love for Russ highly and if she had the choice she would always choose a life with this little boy and decline a life which includes her brother but not being able to raise William on her own. Temperance would have never thought that she could get attached so easily to someone that young.

She could not detain her tears any longer, snuggled closer to Seeley and put her head onto his lap. He started to caress her underarm knowing that his action on this specific bodypart of her would have a comforting effect on the woman he loved. Temperance breathing relaxed but she was not sleeping. Instead, she gazed into the dark room. She took Seeley's other hand, directed it towards her belly and pressed his palm against it.

"It's probably the worst moment to tell you this and I'm sorry but being sensitive has never been my strength. Seeley, I can't keep it a secret any longer. It's yours as well so you've got the right to know," she inhaled deeply, "I'm at least two months pregnant already and I feel bad about not telling you sooner. I should have told you…"

Temperance started to cry. Oh God, she hated being that way, exposing her weakness even though it was her boyfriend who saw her bawling like this. She could not help it. The fear of losing William and the little individual growing inside her made her feel powerless. The feeling of not being able to choose what was going on in her life had never suited Temperance. "I don't understand it myself. It's not reasonable. Are you mad?"

She rose and looked into Seeley's beautiful eyes. Temperance could always lose herself in them. He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. The young woman knew that he wanted to make her forget just for now and this time she would not stop him. She would enjoy the few moments he was about to give her tonight to ignore everything which had been happening. They slowly moved closer and her left hand grabbed his hair as he was undoing her bra. Seeley helped her getting rid of her shirt as well and stroked her exposed breasts endearingly.

"Do you trust me?" He asked huskily while he unbuttoned her pants and pulled them down.

"Yes." Temperance answered and shut her eyes. Whatever he was going to do she would let him devotingly.

He slipped to the end of the couch kissing the area around her bellybutton and moved further to her pelvic bones… He finally spread Temperance legs apart and Seeley's index finger moved along her right leg while the other one had already found its target.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Both were lying completely exhausted on the soft carpet observing each other in silence. Temperance put her head on Seeley's arm and faced him as she was stroking his sweaty shoulder. He moved his other hand towards her lower abdomen but suddenly halted for a second, as if he was reconsidering his actions.

"May I?"

Temperance took his hand and repeated her action from earlier that night. Her hand reminded on top of Seeley's. She loved how his beautiful fingers touched her skin. He would always treat her so carefully! Both were gazing down at their hands, knowing what was happening beneath them. She moved even closer to Seeley and he wrapped his arms around her. Temperance's head was now lying ontop of his torso and she inhaled his scent.

"Anytime." She answered under her breath.

"Temperance," he kissed her gently and smiled, "I'm not mad at you for not telling me sooner. I kind of figured out myself. I…," he looked a little bit guilty and bit his lips,"you should have gotten your period at the beginning of September, " he twinkled at her surprised expression, "and you haven't been complaining about – you know – cramps like you had done before…"

"Nice to know that someone is actually _that_ interested in my cycle," she grinned and laughed softly, "as long as you don't count my tampons…, " both grimaced at the thought and Seeley tickled her underarm, "hey…stop," she demanded jokingly, "I'm fine with it."

Temperance had not felt that happy for days. He just knew how to make her smile again without ignoring the circumstances entirely. Seeley gave her a feeling of confidence. They would endure this mess somehow and she would definitively not abandon hope. Maybe the adoption papers had already been authorized. _It's really a small wonder what a release of biologic chemicals could cause._ Temperance thought and crawled her lover's neck.

"You know, a year ago William was just a little embryo himself."

She nodded and sighed. Temperance was thinking the exact same thing. She knew that Seeley would love to raise another child with her and the idea of having an abortion had crossed her mind just briefly, really briefly.

"We'll manage it somehow, Temperance. I promise you. You won't have to quit your job only because of having another baby," he kissed her left cheek, "you are not alone. I will never leave you, okay?"

She smiled and kissed him back.

"It's weird, although I've actually never wanted kids let alone giving birth myself, I did pick out a couple of names, just in case of course…"

Seeley raised his eyebrows with surprise.

"Just in case? You are unbelievable Dr. Brennan. You are one of a kind. I would have never guessed that," he laughed and tickled her neck, "would you like to tell me?"

Temperance's whole body was shaking. She concentrated hard on remaining silent and grinned from ear to ear as she was trying to escape from Seeley's arms.

"Oh please, Temperance," he teased wrapping his arms tightly around the young woman's slim body, "tell me, don't hide them from me."

He raised his voice playfully and bit her right ear softly.

"I will tell you but please, Seeley," she attempted to break loose from his titillating fingers and gasped, "you've reached a really sensitive spot right now…Seeley! Leave my underarms alone! I will tell you…"

"What?," he stopped and laughed triumphing, "really, here? Right now?"

Temperance rolled her eyes and sighed. "You are such a child, Special Agent Seeley Booth."

She stressed "Special Agent" in particular and grabbed his hands fast.

"I always liked Aurora, Ava and Zoé for a girl and Colin, Elias and Levi for a boy …oh, please don't ask me why exactly," she added as Seeley frowned, "I like the sound of them. That's _all_, really."

Seeley eyed her suspiciously but smiled and kissed her belly.


	8. Chapter 8: November, Creeping Shadows

**A/N: **Woah, I'm amazed how many of you guys are actually enjoying the ff. I never would have thought this. Anway…thanks so much for your support: brennanmars, I hart Booth, canadiangurl, bb-4ever, tonik2255, Lu78, 43n5ic fr3ak, bones-is-love and everybody else who's following it. astonished

Enjoy chapter eight! Sorry it's so short. There will be much more soon to come. ;)

**Chapter VIII**

**November: Creeping Shadows**

It always amazed Temperance what Mother Nature was capable of. Being pregnant was certainly a novelty. She tried to follow the gynecologist's voice but all she could do was peering at the monitor. Temperance still wondered how exactly the doctor was able to identify most of the developing bodyparts. At this stage of pregnancy it was vaguely perceptible for Temperance to determine them except for the "boney" aspects.

"Do you see that?", Dr. Bryton asked warmly and pointed at the busy little muscle in the center of the ultra sonic motor, "that's the heart of the fetus. It's pumping fast. Active little guy – or girl."

It's rapid beating definitively caught the anthropologist's attention. _Funny how active these little beings already are._ Temperance thought and threw a glance over at William who was sitting on Seeley's lap. The seven-months-old baby squealed and grinned instantly exposing his tiny front teeth as he noticed her looking at him. Her partner just sat there fascinatedly and did not say a word. He was just staring at the grey, blackish shadows and swallowed hard. _He is actually moved to tears._ Temperance smirked. It was such an adorable sight.

William had been with her, Seeley or her friends all the time for the last couple weeks. Strangely enough Russ had not visited or called Temperance and Seeley again but he had left behind a lasting impression on both of them. She reached out for the baby and petted his head as she pointed at the monitor and whispered:

"Look William, that's going to be your little brother or sister."

William cooed as if he understood and smiled from ear to ear. His happy nature still had not faded and Temperance was thankful for that. She knew that he had been making it easy for her. The last thing they could use was an ever-fussing baby in addition to the difficulties they were experiencing at the moment.

"The baby looks fine to me, Dr. Brennan and Mr. Booth but I have to advice especially you, Dr. Brennan," the gynecologist's grabbed the examination papers and checked them, "your blood-pressure is really high. Not abnormally yet but if you don't take it a little bit slower the stress will also have a noticeable effect on him or her. Whatever gives you a hard time, it is not worth jeopardizing your baby."

_But William is my baby, too!_

The young woman thought and looked at Seeley. Both could see the fear in each other's eyes. They had not told anyone but Hodgins, Angela and Zack – at least for now.

"By the way…," the doctor's face lighted up again and let William examine her necklace after he had grabbed it carefully observing the pearls in astonishment, "I've tried to calculate the due date based on your information. The baby's auricle, nose, fingers and toes are in particular developed well. That means you are at least ten weeks pregnant and if the baby sticks to the schedule you are due around," she licked her lips," the 18th of May next year. That will make William thirteen months older than his younger brother or sister."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeley noticed that someone had broken in as soon as they arrived back home. He immediatley switched to his "Alpha-Male-Special-Agent"-self, handed the baby over to his his girlfriend and instructed her to remain silent. Everything seemed to be at it's proper place and nothing was missing, too except for William's blanket which had been lying in the living room on the ground when they had left this morning. Seeley knew that they had not put it away and cursed under his breath.

Temperance was still standing outside biting her lips nervously and rocking William who had gotten somewhat restless and tried to escape from her tightening arms. He was becoming aware of her uneasiness and reacted on it in a similar way. Temperance would have accompanied her partner checking the apartment out but that was not a wise thing to do with a baby in her arms. Her first priority was to protect her son.

"Every functioning member of a social group helps to protect the young," She mumbled to herself and suddenly became aware of the fact that she was actually carrying _two_ children. Temperance had stayed primarily behind because of William and had not been thinking about the enveloping human being beneath her abdominal wall. _I really have to get used to this condition._

"Tempe?" Seeley was standing in the door and signaled her to enter the apartment.

"As far as I can see nothing important is missing but William's blankie…sorry, _blanket_," he corrected immediately as the addressed woman rolled her eyes at the used minimization, "but you might want to check for yourself…"

Only William's Bob-The-Builder quilt had disappeared but neither Temperance nor Seeley were relieved. Their newly-installed alarm system had been and still was fully activated and if somebody had broken in violently the system must have had recognized it. However, it was not indicating an accident or a dysfunction at all. Somebody must have received either the password or knew how to circumvent the security system.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't feel safe anymore," Temperance stated as she was sitting with the baby in the bathtub and trying to get William interested in the yellow rubber ducky, "it's not logic. Nobody knows our password, Seeley. I don't see why it is not showing us an intrusion. We _know_ something minor important is gone but right now we don't have any proven evidence of the intruder. I can't stand the idea of being at the mercy of Russ' caprices."

Temperance frowned and made sure that William would not get soap into his eyes as she was washing his tender, auburn hair.

"We might want to tell Cullen, see what he's thinking about everything. As long as Russ doesn't seek help from a lawyer there will be no way for him to get ahold of William – legally. I've been wondering why no fucking lawyer has mailed us already. If I were Russ…" the agent gasped as it was obvious what he was going to say and avoided her eyes, "I'd get a lawyer immediately…," he knelt down and kissed his girlfriend's wet cheek, "it's not logical, as you would comment it. That's all I'm saying, okay?"


	9. Chapter 9: December, Coldness

**A/N: **Thanks to my lovely readers: rae, brennanmars, syd15 (well, there you go -smiles-), bb-4ever, bones-is-love, I hart Booth (phew, I'm glad it's not all OCC then – thanks!) and everybody else who's following my story. Enjoy chapter ten!

**Chapter IX**

**December, Part I: Coldness**

December had arrived fast and along with the merry month its frostiness. It was abormally cold this time of the year. The temperature had already dropped below 14° F but it felt much colder because of the chilly wind. The tall woman looked up at the darkening sky. It would be snowing soon. She cursed and tried to warm herself up by lighting another cigarette making sure not to be seen immediately. She had been waiting the whole day and she still was not giving up hope. Her target had not shown up yet but that did not matter. For once in her lifetime she was able to hold on. Nobody knew that she was in Washington D.C. anyway. Well, nobody but _him_. She frowned at this thought, dropped the cigarette and trampled out the fire.

Angela examined the shopwindow in detail and smiled. She and her best friend had actually agreed on NOT buying a present for each other this year, but Angela had failed miserably just thirteen hours later... She could not help it and noticed the weight of her four bags. She had bought a wonderful, black cashmere scarf for Seeley and a book for her best friend. Angela did not really know what it was about but she had heard Temperance mentioning it ardently. She was not even able to pronounce the title and that's why Angela had not tried to read what the thousand-pages-long volume comprised. Temperance would be explaining it to her sooner or later anyway.

Now it was time to find a present for William. Angela sighed and entered the Toys'R'Us store. She had bought him so much stuff already that the woman was now clueless what to get him now. Probably half of his belongings stemmed from Angela's enthusiastic baby equipment shopping. Temperance had always rolled her eyes at her but Angela did not mind. She knew that her above-average intelligent friend found it actually helpful, in particular the first few months. Angela grinned and eyed an extreme colorful, cuddly pet. It was supposed to be a mouse but to Angela it looked more like an exploded, miserably chromatic hedgehog.

She looked around but nothing caught her eyes, although Angela had an excellent view on the trillion different kinds of toys. _Getting up that early was the right thing to do. God, I can't stand crowds and standing in line for ages!_ She always thought that buying presents for a baby was not that difficult but William had become a tough one. He was definitively exacting. _Just like his mother. _Angela thought and got somewhat moody as she was reminded of Temperance's disconcerting news about Russ and the missing blanket. She hoped for the best. Taking the baby away from Temperance – from them – was the worst thing now that could be happening and Angela was not keen on seeing her friend losing the biggest part of her family _again_.

She tried to avoid the rising pictures in her mind and gasped. Angela had just found the most adorable present for William. She put it carefully in her hands and took a closer look. _It's perfect!_ She thought happily and rushed to the next cash desk not noticing that she had been observed precisely. The tall woman hurried out of the store smiling into the cold snow flurry and disappeared.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Really, I should be moving in with you two, Tempe."

"It's the next logical step I guess," Temperance stated shortly as she was looking at the dirty skeleton which had been found in the woods a couple miles away from Arlington. She avoided Seeley's eyes making clear that she was not in the mood to talk more about such issues in public.

"Female, mixed race, approximately 18 to 22 years old. Her neck is broken and both her arms and almost everysingle rib are fractured badly indicating that something heavy must have exerted hard pressure on her torso prior to or while breaking her neck."

The anthropologist examined the girl's pelvis closely and finally looked up at her partner who had been crouching next to her holding a big umbrella in order to protect her from the heavy snowing.

"She looks so small, like a kid. She is what…5', 5'1?"

His partner nodded silently and checked the poor girl's teeth. "She's at least 18 years old. Look at her wisdom teeth," Temperance opened the jaws slightly and pointed at them, "she was probably out of high school already or a senior when she was murdered. That means she must have given birth at a really young age."

Temperance stood up and threw a glance at her well hidden cell phone. She felt guilty and kind of uneasy out in the field. Especially since William's blanket had been put back in his original place unimpaired two days earlier. The couple had actually wanted to order a new alarm system but also discussed on moving in together finally after four months. William's blanket was probably the only evidence that Russ had not left Washington D.C. yet. Seeley had brought it right away to the FBI lab and had been able to convince Cullen to run a DNA-test. The results were still unknown. Temperance moaned quietly and shut her eyes. _Everything is going to be fine. Nothing can happen. William is with Cora and Angela. He's save. _She tried to comfort herself while the skeleton was being prepared to be taken to the Jeffersonian Institution.

"You are pale, Tempe. Sure everything is fine? The doctor said that…"

"Yes I know what the doctor said, Seeley. I'm fully aware of the facts," she said impatiently while they were trying to clear a way through the snow back to the warm car, "I'm fifteen weeks along now. I have to eat properly in order to satisfy the baby's and my needs…" Temperance stressed "needs" in particular and climbed into the car. The morning sickness had thankfully eased but had been soon replaced by an unusual strong need for sex. It was unbelievable. In fact, that was the only thing she liked about being pregnant. She sure could dispense with the developing stretch marks and gaining additional fat although the tiny bump had started to fascinate her.

"My god, I hate snow," the woman added furiously and slammed the door shut.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Did you hear that?"

Temperance stopped for a moment and listened. A still heavily breathing Seeley tried to concentrate and looked up. Normally he would not have experienced any difficulties on this task but paying attention to a nearly soundless noise almost being pushed over the edge was definitively a challenge! And from the look on his girlfriend he knew that she had been close _again _as well. Her embracement loosened as she was reaching out for her nightgown.

"What exactly? I can't hear…"

"I thought that… there, did you hear it?"

Temperance crawled nervously out of the bed and switched the lights on. She knew that she had not imagined it. The young woman tried to locate the sound's origin and suddenly gasped. Her eyes widened as she recognized the direction where it had come from.

"William!" Temperance cried out loud and rushed into the baby's room.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeley was sitting in the baby's room and watched over him while Temperance was dozing off on his lap. The agent remembered that keeping an eye on Parker being asleep had always comforted him. It was the same with William. The boy cooed softly and smiled in his slumber frizzing his lips. Thankfully he did not really know how much he had scared them. He had been having another croup attack when Temperance and Seeley had stormed into his room.

Temperance stirred restlessly and turned her head towards William's bed. Seeley noticed her nervousness and started to fondle her back. She was still shaken and close to tears. He knew that feeling so well! She reminded Seeley of himself when an eighteen-months-old Parker had suddenly come off the stairs and had injured himself badly for the very first time. The agent had been extremely frightened and shocked seeing his young son screaming bloody murder.

"You did well, Tempe. You know what you had to do. He is fine."

The woman threw a glance at her boyfriend and put her head on top of his shoulder.

"But I couldn't prevent this from happening. I am his mother," her embrace tightened, "I should have known how to stop, how to protect him. All I could do first was staring at him as if my reasoning had stopped working, my mind was absolutely blank. How can I be able of caring for another child if I don't seem to be capable of…," Temperance wiped away her tears and smiled weakly as Seeley took her face in his hands and covered her point of the nose with a soft kiss, "God, these hormones are killing me. I shouldn't be crying all the time," she laughed, "I _know_ I've done well and I won't lose this ability. I've got a steep learning curve."

Her partner smiled faintly and nodded.

"That's my girl! Mood swings are pretty normal. Don't worry about it."

"You know, if this is going to continue till May next year this pregnancy will seem to be lasting _forever_."


	10. Chapter 10: December, A Letter

**A/N: **Wow, I can't believe how many of you are still enjoying it. You don't know how happy I am about your feedback, Lu78, abc, canadiangurl (yes, they must be very weird at first), Gem6, brennanmars (might be…I'm still not sure though), I hart Booth, 43n5ic fr3ak (it was another croup attack), bb-4ever, syd15 (there it is…;) ) and everybody else who's still reading it. Thanks so much! Enjoy chapter ten!

**Chapter ****X**

**December, Part II: A Letter**

Temperance was standing in the lab infront of the big artificial Christmas tree and sighed. This was going to be a real family Christmas but she was not used to it anymore. Temperance liked the idea of finally meeting Seeley's parents although the thought about it scared the hell out of her. She knew that this situation would come sooner or later. _What the hell am I getting them? _

The anthropologist had not cared much about the so called Birth of Jesus Christ and still was not fond of buying presents just because of someone who had lived over 2000 years ago and pretending that everything was going to be all right. She turned back to the table, frowning and threw a glance at the female skeleton. The identity had been found. Her name was Aurora Celestine Jones and she had died two years ago at the age of 19. Her three-year-old son Jamie lived with his maternal grandparents now and seemed to be a happy kid.

Seeley and Temperance had visited the family last week informing Aurora's parents about her daughter's remains and the little guy had been extremely fascinated by them, especially by her showing belly. He had been talking up a storm as he was taking the young woman by the hand just to show her his favorite toys. Jamie was a cute little guy and Temperance felt happy for him that his grandparents were still able to raise another child.

"Hi Sweeties!"

"I'm not plural, Ange. You know that?" Temperance smiled and added, "have I gotten that fat?"

Angela hugged her best friend and put her hands on top of the well-showing bump. Temperance was seventeen weeks along now and anxiously waiting for the baby to kick for the very first time. Despite the growing thunderstorm called "Russ getting help from a lawyer" Temperance was full of confidence and hope. She knew that this stage of the pregnancy was supposed to be the "feeling-great" part and that was definitively happening to her as well.

"You've gotten radiant! This pregnancy really fits you," Angela grinned cheekily, "I'm serious. You've got the typical glow," she bent down, "and you'll be the cutest thing ever!"

_I swear this woman has to get pregnant herself. _

"You know, I'm not sure if I really want to know what's going to happen when William _and_ the baby are in the lab… Ange, did you want anything?"

"Uhm…actually, well…" The woman looked at her feet and sighed, "I've been a really bad girl…"

Temperance shut her eyes but smiled. _I knew it!_ "Gifts?"

Angela nodded.

Temperance opened her mouth but suddenly could not say anything. She stared disbelieving at her friend and put her hands on her belly. Something – someone had just kicked! Temperance gasped and hoped that the baby would repeat its actions. She was not disappointed and felt a slight movement. That was the most beautiful thing Temperance had ever experienced in her entire life.

"Sweety, everything okay?"

She took Angela's hand and directed it towards her bump. Both woman were standing there agog with expectation smiling at each other. Temperance had never seen her friend speechless like this when the baby was kicking again.

"It seems so real now. Don't you think?"

Her friend just nodded but remained silent still staring at Temperance's belly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The happiness about the baby's first movements soon vanished and was replaced by fear and panic. First off all the DNA of William's blanket had been cleared. It could not have been Russ' because it was female. The second reason was a letter:

_Baltimore, the 23__rd__ of December 2008_

_Dear Dr. Brennan,_

_My client and your beloved brother just wanted me to inform you about our next actions considering the re-integration of Russ Brennan's biological son and your nephew William Tye Brennan (born 12__th__ of April this year) in his legitimate family. We have already contacted the responsible family court._

_Due to my client's combination of circumstances and the legal adoption of William on your side , the court has decided to leave the child with you until my client is cleared on condition of your agreement that Russ Brennan is allowed to see his son whenever he wishes to. _

_Merry Christmas._

_Sincerely,_

_Dr. Martin Douting_

_P.S. This letter has been pre-approved by the family court._

Temperance was watching William who tried to get behind the shelf in order to look for his little blue ball. He knew that it had rolled behind it and wanted to get his new object of absolute interest back. Scientists called this oberservation "object permanence", first introduced by a swiss biologist and psychologist named Piaget. The anthropologist did not put much into Psychology but his ideas were definitively interesting. The term described the awareness that objects did not stop existing only because of not being visible anymore. Object permanence was typically acquired at eight to nine months.

She wanted to help the baby but her head was telling her that William had to do this on his own. He had to be convinced that he possessed the ability of getting something he desired all by himself. His face had already gotten a red touch and he was getting impatient as well but Temperance stayed were she was at.

"You can do it, William. I know you can," she whispered under her breath and put her hand on her ever-growing bump, "you are almost there."

She had been trying to dam up her tears but seeing William like this – "all grown up, exploring the world" – was heart rending, especially now. Temperance could not stand the thought about not being able to observe, cry and laugh about his following steps. The permission of holding him was not enough for her. She wanted to keep him, have William with them.

Temperance covered her face with her hands, turned away from the little boy and started to sob. She knew that her actions were foolish in an instance because as soon as she had turned away and started crying William looked up insecurely and grimaced, beginning to bawl as well. He immediately lost his interest in the tiny blue ball, sat down and reached out for her.


	11. Chapter 11: January, Concession

**A/N: **Thanks so much! Your feedback always makes me smile, 43n5ic fr3ak, brennanmars (it's January now but I'll keep Seeley's parents for the sequel in mind), bb-4ever, boneswhisper, canadiangurl, lily, x-naomi-x, xAbiVx, syd15 and I hart Booth (how did the exam go? )).

Enjoy chapter eleven.

**Chapter X****I**

**January: Concessions**

Seeley sighed and looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall above the big wooden doors. He had wanted to support her in every way he could but the court and especially Russ and his lawyer had disagreed with this "counterproductive notion". The Special Agent had been forced to sit outside, just because they were not married, while his girlfriend and the mother-to-be of his second child was struggling for the custody of William. "That's a family matter, Agent Booth." Dr. Martin Douting, Russ' lawyer, had sneered just before the doors of the courtroom had to be closed.

Seeley frowned and thought about the past couple weeks. Christmas would have been so wonderful if the letter had arrived later but it had not. He had wanted to make this special time of the year also special for her. He knew that his girlfriend did not believe in this "Christian practices" but she had started to understand the real idea behind it. Seeley had promised Temperance to make it bearable for her.

The licitly announcement had thrown her – comprehensibly – out of balance and Christmas had been running the gauntlet for Temperance and for him as well. He knew that his girlfriend had made every effort she had been able to and his family had nevertheless been delighted with the famous anthropologist but Seeley had seen her anxiety and restlessness. His intention of a perfect family get-together had been destroyed beyond repair on the day the letter had been put into Temperance's mailbox.

How much he wanted to be with her right now! Seeley had had to pull over three times this morning because the woman he loved had not been able to keep her breakfast down and when a crying William had been consigned to care to someone from the family services Temperance had almost lost it.

He felt a soft, warm hand on top of his and smiled instantly. Parker was sitting next to him and looked into his father's eyes. The young boy had insisted on going along with Temperance and Seeley. He knew that something serious was going on and his father had actually wanted to protect him but Parker had not been able to persuade. He had grown extremely attached to the much younger toddler and did not want to miss him either.

"Daddy, everything will be okay. I know that." His son smiled and put his right hand on Seeley's leg. "Tempe is smart. She knows what she's ought to say. She's a doctor!"

The Special Agent grinned and hugged the boy tightly. Children always tended to comfort him. Parker was right and he should not be worrying so much. Temperance was a really smart woman after all and she had done things nobody knew about. She did have the ability to convince people but needed to understand that not everybody was capable of following her scientific dissipation.

The huge doors suddenly opened and a lost-looking Temperance stormed out of the courtroom into her boyfriends arms.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Don't forget," Temperance put the last baby utensils into William's bag and hesitantly handed it over to her brother, "you have to be back at eight pm tonight."

Russ nodded and kissed William, who was sleeping in his arms, on top of his head. Brother and sister were observing each other for a moment but both did not know what to say. Temperance put her hands on her hips and leaned back. She was twenty-one weeks along now and well showing, a little bit too much for her taste. Her breasts were hurting and she had not slept well. The baby had been and still was really active. Her doctor had informed her that the child's behavior was typical for this stage of the pregnancy and Temperance wished that she could enjoy it more than she was now.

She and Seeley had regulary visited a birth preparation course and every other woman had seemed to be awfully happy and excited. Temperance was still trying to warm-up but the fear about loosing her son kept her from concentrating on the little individual inside her belly. How elated she had been about the feeling of the first movements. But these moments of joy had become rare especially since the end of December.

The young woman wanted her baby to experience happiness and warmth but right now it was hard for Temperance to provide these things. Her head was with her growing child but her heart was yearning for the little boy who had been put ontop of her doorsteps over nine months ago. Temperance did love the baby and she was glad to be carrying a child although she had actually never wanted to get pregnant let lone giving birth. _I shouldn't be taking it out on the baby. I really have to get used to devide my maternal love. Sorry, darling._

"You look tired. Is the baby keeping you up all night?"

She turned her attention back on the computer screen and snorted.

"That's none of your damn business, Russ. You might want to go and do whatever you've planned. The time is ticking."

Russ threw a last glance at at his scornful sister and left her office with William in his arms.

Temperance stared at the test results and clenched her fists. She knew that it was his official legal right to spend time with his son on Wednesday and every other weekend now but Temperance did not have to like it. The family court had decided to allow Russ limited contact with his son until he was totally cleared. Nobody had informed Temperance and Seeley what Russ had done or what had happened.

"Sweetie?"Angela knocked on the open door and entered her best friend's office, "You okay? I saw Russ walking out with Will-…"

"Yes, Ange. Everything is all right. Did you want anything?"

Her best friend's sad face made Temperance feel sorry immediately and she scolded herself for being so rude to Angela. She bit her lips and sighed. "Look, Angela, I'm sorry…I…"

The artist smiled faintly and hugged Temperance tightly. "It's okay Sweetie," she looked pitifully at her friend and took her by the hand, "Aurora's parents wished to see you. They are outside obviously waiting for the famous Dr. Brennan. Seeley's already there."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We wanted to thank you two, Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth. Thanks to your effort we were able to bury our beloved daughter and Jamie's mother," Celestine Amdu-Jones smiled sadly at the couple and pointed at Temperance's bump, "how far along are you?"

"I'm twenty-one weeks along now…oh, and we still don't know whether it'll be a girl or a boy."

Celestine nodded and looked at her husband who was playing silently with his grandson.

"When I was pregnant with Aurora I knew that she was going to be a girl. We've had three son's before and it was the hardest pregnancy. The morning-sickness wasn't really a morning-sickness, more a six-month-plague and I could cry all the time. It felt different and I asked myself two days before she was born whether I was able to love something that had felt so awkward from the beginning. She was more or less and accident," the afro-american woman said openly and looked into Temperance's eyes, "but we loved and love her as much as we love our sons, Adam, Alex and Antony."

Seeley took Temperance's hand. He did not need to look at her to know that tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"I can see your doubts, Dr. Brennan. Don't worry. You will forget everything when your child is lying all bloody on top of your tummy screaming it's head off. Don't give yourself such a hard time."

The anthropologist did not know what to say, instead smiled slightly.

"Our daughter was taken away, murdered by someone we had trusted for so long and we thought we had died that day she had disappeared but the deep love we felt for her kept us alive. The love to and of a child does funny things, you know but it's natural. We want to thank you for being able to get reminded of her and her love in a proper way. She isn't lying somewhere in the woods, anonymous and lonely. Aurora did come home, not as we wished she would but at least we know what happened. Jamie will be growing up knowing that she did not walk away from her responsibility. Maybe _that_ would have been worse. I don't know."


	12. Chapter 12: Feb, Too Fast, Too Furious

**A/N: **Hello everybody! I'm still so amazed how many of you are still hooked up to THANTH. Two more chapters to go but I'm already planning on writing a sequel. ;) Thanks for your support, canadiangurl (well…you'll find out soon), brennanmars, x-naomi-x, bb-4ever, 43n5ic fr3ak, abc, offspringfreak and everybody else. You guys rock!

**Chapter XI****I**

**February: Too Fast, Too Furious**

The female DNA they had found on William's blanket belonged to an unkown woman but Seeley had not been able to identify this person. Why would a woman they did not know take a baby's blanket away just to bring it back shortly after having stolen it? The FBI Agent watched his naked, pregnant girlfriend sleeping. She looked so beautiful and relaxed when she was asleep. As if somebody had taken everything which was bothering her from her mind. Seeley wished that everything would be over soon. He understood Russ in one way but despised him on the other hand for making Temperance's, the babys' and his life so stressful. As far as it concerned him he could not imagine a life without William either even if the child was not his own.

Seeley scooted closer to his girlfriend as she opened her eyes looking at him affectionately. He put a hand on her tummy and stroked it carefully. It was warm and almost ball shaped. Seeley was comforted by her softness and started to kiss her neck while his free hand crawled her left underarm.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered hoarsely as he stopped kissing her neck in order to take her chin pulling it closer to his face, "can I keep you tonight?"

Temperance wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him passionately groaning something that did sound like a "Yeah".

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There you go," Dr. Bryton pointed at the monitor and grinned shrewdly, "look how it's sucking on his or her thumb. You are approximately twenty-five weeks along now. See, it's normal that the baby gains "a lot" of fat now. Oh, we can find out whether it'll be a boy or a girl, if you want."

"No!" Yelled Seeley and Temperance at the same time and smiled at each other.

"We would like it to be a surprise to us." The woman explained and threw a glance at the monitor.

They were able to actually see their baby for the very first time. Seeley, who had William on his lap, and Temperance were speechless. Everything was so clear, the ears, the baby's eyes, his or her lips...it was complete. _Perfect._

"Look, Tempe, she or he has your nose."

She raised her eyebrows but examined her child's face closely.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Seeley handed William over to his girlfriend and pointed at the tiny nose.

"Look the way it's shaped and the little nostrils and look at those cheeks!"

The FBI Agent cried out loud. He was completely in his element.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, you are a well-kown, famous and highly respected anthropologist. You've helped identifying dead people all over the world just by examining their skeletons."

Dr. Martin Douting threw a short glance at Temperance but turned his attention immediately back to the audience and smiled mischievously.

"Is that correct?"

Temperance snorted and if the situation had not been so serious she would have broken this bastard's nose already. She opened her mouth but was not able to say a single word. The young woman closed her eyes and tried to relax focusing on her breathing. She had felt it again. This distinctive pain which had been messing with her concentration would not let go this time as if it was glued to her abdomen. Temperance opened her eyes and made eye contact with Seeley, who was sitting a couple of feet away from her in the audience. She knew that he was worrying about her. _Oh Seeley your eyes are always telling…_

"Dr. Brennan. Please answer Dr. Douting's question."

Temperance, who had still eye contact with her boyfriend nodded at the judge and turned her head towards her brother and his lawyer.

"Yes, that is correct."

Dr. Douting fished a magazine out of his briefcase and held it up so everybody in the room was able to see it. Temperance was on it's cover looking sternly at a female skull, the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan right behind her.

"How long did this excavation take?"

"Four months."

The woman flinched and put her hand on top of her swollen belly. _It'll be over soon, darling. Promise._ She thought focusing on Dr. Douting's lecture.

"You've been there for the whole time?"

"Yes."

"How many of these long _business trips_ have you made so far?"

"About 15."

Temperance replied. Something was definitely wrong now. The pain had spread and her entire body was hurting.

"That means you are often out of the States. I bet it's not easy let alone having a child with you, in your case obviously soon two children. Tell me, Dr. Temperance, how are you supposed to be able taking care of _two _infants while working on more than ten skeletons at the same time far away from your home, from William and…"

"Temperance!"

The woman curled up in a ball on the chair and moaned. Seeley jumped up and caught his collapsing girlfriend just in time.

"Somebody call an ambulance, please!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The young woman was lying in a hospital bed and exhaled relieved. The pain had disappeared. She did not need to open her eyes to know that Seeley was sitting right next to her. He carefully stroked her belly and whispered something. _A prayer,_ Temperance concluded and opened her eyes.

"What happened and where is William?"

He took her hand and kissed it softly.

"William is on the way. Angela decided to take care of him shortly after you collapsed in the court room. I couldn't…"

She squeezed his hand.

"The baby?"

"Fine," Seeley replied silently and smiled faintly, "but we have to slow down."

"Premature contractions?"

He nodded. "Too fast, too furious."

Temperance smirked and pulled his face closer to hers.

"I don't kow what that means."

_I love it when she says that_. Seeley thought and kissed her.


	13. Chapter 13: March, Plans

**A/N: **Sorry, it's a little bit short…more next time…. Thanks so much for reading my story.

**Chapter XIII**

**March: Plans**

"I feel fat."

Temperance, who was feeding a grouchy William, and Angela were sitting in the park and enjoyed themselves. They had decided to take the Friday off from work (and from their men) in order to relax in the warm sun although the anthropologist would have loved to examine the newly found skeleton. She missed her work but Dr. Bryton had earnestly instructed Temperance to slow down.

"Sweetie, you are not fat, you are thirty weeks pregnant now. You are _allowed _to have a higher BMI. Consider yourself lucky."

Angela grinned and took a picture of William who did not seem to be interested in the carrot puree at all. He was eleven months old now and already able to stand and walk by the hand. He also could say something that sounded almost like "mom" but Temperance and Seeley were not really sure. The toddler tried to get on the ground and grabbed Angela's arm tightly.

"Wow," the anthropologist's best friend exclaimed and helped William to stand up straight, "somebody is really active today."

"Not only him."

"Mmmmmommmm."

William cooed and looked at Temperance grinning from ear to ear.

"Did he just say what I think he said?"

Temperance nodded and kissed the standing boy on his head.

"And we can only hope that it'll stay that way…Mommy loves you, right," she said kindly, "the final hearing will be on the 4th of April, three weeks from today. God, I hope we can keep him. I have to admit that Russ is wonderful with him but insecure. I must have looked the same when I first found him. Wow," the young woman smiled at her friend, "it's almost a year ago. Crazy, isn't it?"

Angela, who helped William walking by offering her right hand so he was able to grab and hold onto it firmly, nodded and glanced soberly at Temperance.

"And Russ is still seeing William regulary?"

"Well, kind of which is confusing me to be honest. He skipped an entire weekend without telling us why. He pays a lot of money for a lawyer who's helping him to get his son back and he just doesn't seem to be so interested in everything anymore. That's not reasonable," Temperance snorted, "as if he doesn't want him anymore. I don't understand him but let's talk about something else. I've been stressing myself out about this issue too much already."

She put a hand on top of belly and leaned back.

"I'm so fed up with _this_. My back hurts, the extremities are swollen, I've had really weird food cravings and my libido is completely out of control," she laughed and put the carrot puree away, "which we, of course, do not mind at all."

She twinkled at Angela.

"Any news on the creepy DNA?"

"No, altough I know that Seeley suspects someone but he hasn't told me yet. We want to move out as soon as possible. He's been looking at some nice apartments and houses lately. There won't be much room left when hopefully two kids are conquering the apartment."

"William and…?", the artist looked curiously at her best friend and raised her hand while the other one was still busy with stabilizing William, "no chance to get out of it, Sweetie. Tell me all the juicy details."

Temperance sighed.

"If it's going to be a boy we'll call him Felix and if it's going to be a girl we'll call her Aurora. We are not sure about the middle names though."

"What about Corazón? It means heart in Spanish. It would be adorable but that's only my humble opinion."

"Aurora Corazón," the pregnant woman repeated and shut her eyes, "I really like the sound of it. It isn't too fancy but too common either, thanks, Angela."

"You bet! I can't wait till WE are talking about names," the artist eyes were shining, "Hodgins will be such an awesome father."

The anthropologist smiled at her friend while listening to Angela's deliberations about becoming and being a mother. It would have surprised Temperance a lot if her best friend had not wanted children on her own.

"You know, we haven't really talked about it but I think Samira for a girl would be so _cute_…" She chattered happily away without hesitation.


	14. Chapter 14: April, Happy Birthday

**A/N: **There you go guys…the last and final chapter plus epilogue. Thanks for your support and your wonderful feedback! Don't worry, the story isn't over yet. I've got lots ideas for the sequel…any suggestions on your side? Anyway…hope you like the end, cheers!

**Chapter XIV**

**April: Happy Birthday**

"I can't sleep."

Seeley opened his eyes and looked at the alarm clock. It was 2 am now. He was so exhausted. Temperance had gotten extremely demanding for the last three weeks and his job had not been relaxing as well. The FBI Agent yawned and turned around rubbing his eyes. Temperance had switched the lights on and was staring at the ceiling. Seeley could not see that she was trying not to scream, that she was holding her breath and clenching her fists.

"Tempe," he sighed and took her cold hand, "I'm scared too but at least it'll be over soon. And no matter how it is going to end we'll find a way to deal with it. I promise." He whispered and finally looked at his girlfriend.

She was sweating and breathing sharply.

"Hey," his eyes widened and got up, "Tempe? Temperance. What is wrong?"

The woman could not answer. She was trying to breath the pain away just how she had learned it. It was far too early to give birth but Temperance had recognized the signs. There was no way that they could stop their child now. Her heart was beating fast as a very painful contraction went through Temperance's womb. _It is too early…it shouldn't be happening._

"Get.Me.To.The.Hospital." She cried out loud and pushed the blanket away as her water broke.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You are far too dilated to have a c-section," Dr. Bryton exclaimed looking at Temperance, "your baby is being serious about getting out as fast as possible."

_No kidding!_ Temperance thought and squeezed Seeley's hand tightly. She had been in labor for only about two hours now and was already fighting with bearing down pains. Her breathing became faster and she desperately tried not to scream. She would not tolerate it. The pale woman looked at Seeley, who was close to tears still and holding her hand.

"Your child is approximately six weeks premature that's why we have to put him or her immediately into an incubator just to be sure. Your son or daughter will be tiny but the probability of…"

"I KNOW," Temperance screamed and pushed the midwife's hand away.

She did not mean to be so snappy but the ever-growing pain was certainly exacting its toll. Temperance just wanted to be alone. She was annoyed, in pain and afraid.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and grabbed Seeley's shoulder, spreading her legs apart, "I can feel it. It's head and the shoulders…"

She leaned against the big pillow and exhaled. _Almost there, Temperance. You can do this._

"Your child is such a great helper, Dr. Brennan. Push as hard as you can when the next contraction comes, okay? We are almost there."

Temperance tried to focus on Seeley's face. He smiled softly assuring her that everything would be okay. She wished she would have accepted an epidural anesthesia when her doctor had made this recommendation. It was too late now and the young woman regretted her decision. _I'll never do this again Seeley, no matter how much you beg!_

She knew that it would not take long anymore. Seeley was rubbing her back and Temperance was glad that he did not talk. He was there and only that mattered. She was not alone and she knew that he would never go, leaving her heart-broken behind.

"I love you, Seeley Booth."

She cried out loud as a terrible pain paralyzed her entire body.

"Push!"

And she did, assisting the little person who was trying to be free as soon as possible, much too early. This contraction was followed soon by another one and Temperance decided that this one was going to be the last she was willing to endure. The young woman was tired and anxious yet too determined to give up.

She bent forward in order to rest her head on her boyfriend's shoulder and pressed her lips together.

"The baby is crowning, Temperance. Very good. It's coming," the midwife shouted and took her client's other hand. And suddenly Temperance was able to feel how the undersized baby emerged from its dark and warm hiding place, greeting the outside world with a soft but agonizing cry.

"Congratulations, Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth," Dr. Bryton held the tiny baby up, "you've got a beautiful little girl! There you go."

The tall gynecologist handed the complaining and thankfully breathing girl shortly over to her parents and the infant immediately stopped whining. It amazed Temperance how small her daughter was.

"She is so tiny," Temperance whispered exhaustedly and kissed the baby's bloody cheek, "look at your little toes, Aurora."

Seeley was shaking and could hardly stand. He had gotten incredibly pale.

"She's beautiful," the Agent finally said being close to tears, "I love you, Temperance and Aurora."

He kissed his girlfriend softly as his hand reached out for his daughter's fragile counterpart.

"Yes, she really is but I'm sorry," the doctor said as the nurse took the baby out of Temperance's arms and vanished rapidly, "Aurora has to be taken to the premature ward now. We don't want to take any risks."

**Epilogue**

_12__th__ of April, 2009_

_Tempe,_

_First of all, allow me to congratulate you on your daughter. She must be beautiful with a mother like you. I hope she'll be able to be taken home soon. We would like to see her, you and Seeley someday and I am sorry that I have caused so much misery and trouble. That was certainly not my intention but please understand my motives. Imagine you in my situation. How would you have reacted? You would have gone crazy, I know my little sister._

_I was not able to sit there doing nothing so I seeked help from Dr. Douting. He adviced me to get my son back. "Where he belongs". He is my biological son, yes, I do not have doubts at all (sorry about the blanket) but I have learned something really important. William Tye does not belong to me. He is your son. I have seen you with him, talking to him, holding him. I would never be able to look the way at William you do. _

_That does not mean that I do not want to stay in contact with you but right now I would not be able to take care of another child, I would not be able to give him as much love as you do – maybe in the future. I do not know._

_Happy Birthday,_

_Russ _

_P.S. I have sent a copy of this letter to the responsible family court._

Temperance threw a glance at William and Parker who were outside in front of a thick glass plate and smiling brightly at her. She waved at them happily. The boys and Seeley were wearing little birthday hats to mark the occasion. It was William's first birthday today and they were going to celebrate it in an advisable way. But Temperance had decided to stay with her premature daughter a little bit longer. Aurora needed her the most now. She was a strong little fighter and was managing the situation very well but her young mother was not really able to part from her four pounds, 17 ½ inches tiny child for longer than an hour. Aurora had embraced her mother's pinky tightly. It amazed Temperance how strong she already was. She directed her other hand carefully inside the incubator and stroke the baby's tiny head.

Temperance turned around and signaled Seeley, who was holding William, that she needed a little bit more time. He nodded and left the hospital ward with _their sons_. She looked at her wonderful daughter and sighed.

"It started with a newborn and it ended with one, weird huh?" Temperance whispered and took the girl's undersized foot, "I would never have thought that I was able to say that but I guess I was wrong about not wanting to have any children on my own. I hope I'll be able to show you how much you are loved and appreciated and I promise not to leave you, your brother or your father. I'll try my best."

_Fin_


End file.
